When Katie Mocked Danny - Katie Couric's Video Jab at Dan Rather

A clip from comedian Harry Shearer on My Damn Channel provides a glimpse of the real Katie Couric that still lives underneath the anchor automaton on The CBS Evening News. A six-minute-plus unauthorized tape, recorded as she preps for a live news broadcast, shows her to be funny, charming, and (justifiably) mean as she mimics a Dan Rather video on YouTube in which he debates at length whether "to wear, or not to wear" a coat on-camera.

It's not as mean as it could be, considering that Rather lambasted Couric and CBS's decision to hire her for the evening newscast as an attempt to "dumb it down, tart it up in hopes of attracting a younger audience."

Couric is laughing on the tape as she fiddles with her coat and jokes, "this looks more anchor-womanish," "I'm gonna get in trouble," "geez, don't you think [Rather] deserves a little payback?" and finally declares, " This tart is ready to go." The woman we see asking "Bro, what up?" and making pop-culture references to Uggs and celebrity fashion critic Steven Cojocaru is what made this former NBC Today Show co-host a force to be reckoned with in the morning ratings. Even if you're not a fan of her style, it's a shame to see her so controlled and so repressed on the air these days on CBS.

As the first permanent solo female anchor of a network evening news show, she's had to face tremendous pressure and even greater scrutiny. And despite falling ratings, she's remained professional and held her head up high. You have to admire her for that.

Rather's comment about tarting up the news didn't help. Yes, we all know that Rather's aphorisms are legendary. But his deliberate use of the term 'tart' (slang for prostitute) is a kidney punch. I'd rather see Rather use another word with fewer negative connotations to get his point across.